Fears and Failure
by Tungscrus
Summary: Jennifer and her uncle try to cure Mary Anne of her fear of water after Jennifer narrowly saves Mary Anne from drowning.
1. Chapter 1

Rated: Fiction K+ - English - Humor - Chapters: 2 - Words: 8786

Fears and Failure

As told by Jennifer Lyons

When people asked me why I stayed friends with Mary Anne Spencer over the years, I just simply told them to picture themselves in her place. To call Mary Anne mentally challenged or stupid would be wrong and mean! She was more of a borderline simpleton, normally realizing the obvious by saying "Oh right".

Whenever anyone asked if it bothered me that Mary Anne was almost completely dependent on me and did almost everything I did, I would always answer "no". I wouldn't trade my friendship with Mary Anne for anything. My brother Phillip was five years older than me. He was a prankster and a brat, which totally qualified him for his job as a politician. I longed to have a sister and when I moved next door to Mary Anne and we decided to be best friends, it made me feel great. It didn't matter if she was dependent on me, as long as she was my best friend. Sometimes I even felt dependent on her. I was always happy to teach her things, too.

I was born September 2, 1964 and Mary Anne was born December 2, 1964, so there were exactly three months between us – with me being the older one. My family moved from Iowa to Illinois when I was 8, into my grandparents' house in Springfield, and then into the house next door to Mary Anne's. We grew up together as best friends and confidantes. Mary Anne's father died when she was 3 in a boating accident while fishing and her mother died in a car accident when she was 12. Instead of having her run away, my mother and I insisted on taking her in and she would be living with us, something of which Mary Anne overwhelmingly approved. Of course, we also decided to move across town to the other end of Chicago after that because Mary Anne's house was chock-full of too many memories for her to live next door to it.

As she grew up with me, Mary Anne and I were more like sisters than we were best friends. We did everything together and I didn't care what others thought of her hanging out with me. Some of them used to hang out with weirder people. Mary Anne and I shared everything growing up – our jewellery, our make-up, our clothing, etc. Fortunately for us, we were the same size in what we wore. We didn't share the car because at the time Mary Anne seldom drove. She drove once and ran into a stop sign. I once joked that she ran into stop signs because she had a hard time reading the instructions on one. I had a bleeding nose for an hour after saying that, so I never said it again. This shows that Mary Anne can be aggressive when she needs to be. Sometimes, she even acted like a cry-baby. We also had our arguments, but when it came down to it, I would rather have had Mary Anne with me at any time, than have her run away.

Before her mother died, Mary Anne learned from her how to cook. She excelled well in Home Economics class and helped me out in it. She loved to cook and once aspired to be a waitress. When she moved in with my family, she thought she could earn her keep by cooking for us. Living with her as a roommate, Mary Anne did the cooking. If it wasn't for her, I would be living off canned goods, sandwiches, and anything I could put in a microwave.

As Mary Anne and I grew up through high school, we were a little separated in our hobbies. I enjoyed sports, and even though our high school never had a pool, I enjoyed swimming and was a lifeguard from ages 13 – 17. Mary Anne, on the other hand, only did one sport and that was roller skating. The others, she learned from me. Mary Anne, however, had a deathly fear of water due to her trauma over the death of her father in a boating accident, which is why she never learned to swim. At the age of 17, a bully named Clifford pushed Mary Anne into the water in her roller skates. I had to save her and when she came to she decided never to go into a boat or a raft or near water again, unless she was with someone she could trust. That is where our story begins:

It was a Saturday morning in August 1988 in Chicago when Larry and Balki invited us to go on a camping trip with the Chronicle. I loved camping, but Mary Anne had never been camping in her lifetime. Larry and Balki came over to talk to us just as the rest of the people from the Chronicle were about to start taking a mule down to the campsite.

"Cousin Larry has an idea, girls," Balki said.

"What is it?" I asked.

Larry said, "How would you girls like to go on a raft built for four people to the campsite, instead of going to the campsite on a mule."

With both of us at the age of 23, neither of us had ever gone rafting. Since Mary Anne never learned to swim, she had the hardest time to make such a decision. To me, that seemed like a good idea. I looked over at Mary Anne, who had a look of insecurity on her face.

"I'm game, Larry," I said, "It sounds romantic."

"Jennifer," Mary Anne said, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," I said, "Excuse us, please, guys."

Mary Anne took me over to the side.

"Do you think we should go on a raft with them?" Mary Anne asked.

"Of course," I said, "I see no problem."

"You forgot, Jennifer, I don't like boats or rafts, and if we fall into the water, I can't swim."

"Don't worry, Mary Anne," I said, "I will be right beside you, and Larry and Balki will be with us. Besides, it is either that or we take a mule."

"Well as long as I know that you will be with me, I guess I will go. Besides, I don't think I would like to go on a mule anyway."

"Great," I said with a smile, "Let's go tell the guys."

So we told the guys that we decided to go with them on a raft to the campsite. Larry's sense of direction and misreading of the map got us going in the wrong lane on the river. After a great deal of white water splashed upon us, everything was completely silent for about two seconds. Then we heard a noise that Mary Anne identified in her own way as a waterfall. We tried to steer the raft close to the shore, with Larry telling us where exactly to row. After about a minute on the rough waves, Larry toppled over sideways into the water. Balki went after him, jumping off the back. Seeing all this, Mary Anne jumped off her side, into the water.

"I'll save you, Balki," she yelled.

"Mary Anne, you can't swim!" I hollered.

"Oh, no!" she shrieked, "Save me, Jennifer. Help, I can't swim!"

Just a few inches and a few seconds before Mary Anne went over the falls, I managed to grab her by the back of the lifejacket and pull her away. When I grabbed Mary Anne, I noticed she had blacked out, which she always did in the water. All the while, Balki and Larry came out to save us.

"Take Mary Anne ashore, Balki, she blacked out. She will come to in a few minutes." I yelled over the waves, while Larry was holding onto a rock for dear life, "I will go get Larry."

Mary Anne did indeed come to when she got ashore and Balki took her in the woods, while I followed behind with Larry. At first I was mad at Larry because he got us lost and we nearly drowned. Balki, however, told me that Larry was only trying to show me a romantic time, which actually I figured out, since most of the trip was the four of us together in a romantic sort of way. I calmed down and enjoyed the rest of the camping trip, which we made right where we were. The next day we went downstream and found our way back to civilization. Only problem was we had to cross the river and Mary Anne didn't know how to swim. We got a rope and tied it around her waist to pull her across. We got back to our respective apartments and since she was unconscious when Balki brought her ashore, Mary Anne naturally assumed that he saved her life.

"Balki saved my life," she said, "Isn't he great?"

That was when I decided to come clean with her. I was nervous about it, because it was partially my fault that Mary Anne got into that situation. If I hadn't asked her to come rafting with us, she never would have been that close to drowning. But it was also Larry's fault for getting us lost.

I gulped and said to her in a soft voice, "Mary Anne, I was the one who saved your life. You were inches from going over the falls and seconds away from drowning. I grabbed you and pulled you away. Balki brought you into shore because I had to go get Larry."

I was always honest with Mary Anne and she knew it. She also knew that I would never take credit for something someone else did. Mary Anne looked at me with a look of tenderness in her eyes. She knew that if it hadn't been for me, she would be dead by now.

Mary Anne started to cry. "Oh, thank you, Jennifer," she said, hugging me with tears in her eyes, "You saved my life at the last possible second. You are not only my best friend, you're my hero! I will be forever in your debt and I will always be grateful to you. I don't know if I will ever be able to repay you for this. I owe you my life. You will be forever commended by me for saving my life." Then she wiped her tears on my shirt sleeve. I gave her a tissue to blow her nose. I also started to cry.

"I didn't want to lose my best friend because she means so much to me," I said, "I will always be there for you, Mary Anne. We stick together, like sisters."

It was a sweet and sentimental moment between me and Mary Anne. Her dog Sadie, who she got for Christmas a few years ago, jumped up in Mary Anne's arms. I guess Sadie could see the tenderness here. Sadie was loyal to Mary Anne. I liked dogs, too, but my brother was allergic to them and my father hated cats. Mary Anne always had a passion for animals, especially dogs, so when we moved on our own and were able to have pets in the apartment, I got Mary Anne a toy poodle when she was 21. She called the poodle "Sadie". Sadie was trained to react instantly when Mary Anne was in any kind of trouble. If she was, Sadie would come to me. It was almost as if Mary Anne could hear what Sadie was thinking, because she responded verbally to everything Sadie did. I liked Sadie too, but what I didn't like was that Mary Anne treated Sadie like a baby, calling herself "Mommy" and me "Auntie Jennifer". But that was her way, I guess.

That evening, one of Mary Anne's favourite shows was on TV, at the same time as my favourite show. I felt bad for Mary Anne, so I asked her if she wanted to watch her show.

"No, thank you, Jennifer," she said, "You can always watch your favourite show because you are a great and wonderful person. In fact, I am going to sit down and watch it with you." This was kind of strange, because Mary Anne hated most of the shows that I watched, especially this one. During a commercial, Mary Anne asked me if I wanted anything to eat.

"Popcorn would be nice," I said, so she got up and made some. She brought the bowl of popcorn over to me, took a handful of it, and left me the rest. When I offered her some more of it, she refused and told me I could eat the rest because I was a terrific person. Mary Anne and I shared the same room. That evening before I went to bed, I noticed her down on her knees praying to God. Both of us had been devout Catholics and said our prayers a lot when we were girls. As we grew older, though, it was only once a week that we said them.

Mary Anne said her prayers out loud: "God bless me and please take care of my family members who have gone before me. Also, God, thank you for sending Jennifer to me. She is a wonderful person and I want to thank you for having her save my life. Please give me the strength and encouragement to always be grateful and kind to Jennifer and please keep her in my life forever because she is the greatest."

I had a gigantic smile on my face and felt tingly inside. I couldn't help but stand in the hall and weep lightly at the idea that I was the one who risked my life to save Mary Anne. What if I lost Mary Anne, I thought, where would I be? I have been there for her to help her in any way that I can. I was so glad that I saved her life; now I could enjoy being with her again.

The next day, I woke up to the aroma of my favourite breakfast – fried eggs and pancakes. I went out to the kitchen and there was Mary Anne with that on a plate for me. She set it down in front of me when I sat down.

"What's all this?" I asked.

"Your breakfast," Mary Anne said, "Would you like some freshly-squeezed orange juice, Jennifer?"

"Ah, sure, Mary Anne," I said.

"What about coffee? Do you want milk in your coffee?"

"Sure, but remember, no sugar in it this time."

"Of course not," Mary Anne said, "You don't like it that way."

Now that was weird, even for Mary Anne. Whenever she made coffee for us, she would always put sugar in her coffee and in mine. I would always have to repeatedly tell her that I didn't like sugar in my coffee and get upset to the point where I asked her not to make coffee for me anymore.

"Why exactly are you giving me all this attention, Mary Anne?" I asked.

"Simple," she said, "You saved my life and I am going to make sure that you have the very best in life."

I took a sip of my coffee and said, "I already do have the very best in life. I have my best friend."

Then Mary Anne hugged me and kissed my forehead, at which I smiled.

"Thank you for making my breakfast for me, Mary Anne," I said, smiling.

"Thank you for saving my life, Jennifer," she said.

The thing with Mary Anne is that if she had been several feet, several yards, or even several fathoms away from going over the falls, she probably wouldn't express as much gratitude to me. But since she was inches from the falls and seconds away from drowning when I saved her life, she thought she would shower me with overwhelming gratitude. In fact, the gratitude was so overwhelming, I felt like I was a queen and she was my servant. However, I didn't know how far I should take it.

I sat in the living room after breakfast and Mary Anne came out with an emery board and some nail polish.

"I am going to do your nails, Jennifer," she said.

"What colour?" I asked

"Any colour you want."

I picked red.

"I can do my nails myself, Mary Anne," I said.

"Let me do them, Jennifer. I want you to always look good because you are my best friend."

I couldn't help but smile as Mary Anne did my nails, and then she brushed my hair for me

"Next," Mary Anne said, "I am going to fix your lunch for you and your dinner. I am going to be grateful to you forever."

When I went to bed that evening, about 10 pm, Mary Anne was there, ready to read me the newspaper. I didn't object to it, but I naturally asked her to back off on me a bit. She looked a little sad, but I told her to wait until tomorrow. She could do something for me then. Mary Anne smiled and went to bed herself.

The next morning, Mary Anne brought me breakfast in bed and made my coffee the right way. This stuff went on for about a week-and-a-half. We would go to work and Mary Anne would make sure that I was well-relaxed while she did the work around the airplane. I watched as she made the announcement about passengers fastening their seatbelts. I wanted to serve the food to them, but Mary Anne insisted that she do it.

A few days later, I insisted that Mary Anne take Sadie for a walk. After about an hour, I drove out and found Mary Anne standing in the cemetery by her parents' grave. She had been staring at it for a good while as I came up. With Mary Anne not knowing that I was behind her, I heard her say:

"Mother and Father, I can't believe how lucky I am." She pointed to the ground next to the grave. "I would be right there now if it hadn't been for Jennifer. She means everything in the world to me. I am so glad that she saved my life. But why was I spared?"

I came over to her.

"Mary Anne?" I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, Jennifer," she said, hugging me again, "I can't thank you enough for what you did. You are more than just my best friend. You are my hero and you are very brave. I want to be forever grateful to you for saving my life." She pointed to the ground again. "I can't get over the fact that I would be right there if it wasn't for you."

Mary Anne was right. She could have died in a similar manner to her father. The newspapers would have said "Stewardess Drowns in Rafting Accident". Or worse yet, Mary Anne's grave would have said:

Mary Anne Penelope Spencer

December 2, 1964 – August 23, 1988

Died age 23

But they didn't, and it was because of me that it didn't. I prevented all this because I thought enough of my best friend to save her life. I could see the real reason for her gratitude. I guess Mary Anne had to get it all out of her system.

"I saved your life before, Mary Anne," I said, "Don't you remember when we were 17 and Clifford pushed you into the pool?"

"Yes," she said, "But you were paid to do that. This time you weren't. Will you do me a favour, Jennifer?"

"Anything, Mary Anne," I said

She handed me Sadie's leash.

"Will you take Sadie home with you, please? I want to be alone for a while."

"No problem," I said. I loaded Sadie in the car and took her with me. I could tell that Sadie was also grateful to me for saving Mary Anne. She licked my face when we got in the car. I went home and gave her some food. Then I petted her. "Things will be okay, Sadie," I said, "Mommy will be back later and she will be with you." I guess some of Mary Anne's babyish treatment of Sadie rubbed off on me, too.

When Mary Anne got home, it was close to dinner time. She walked in the apartment and quietly walked into the kitchen, to prepare dinner for us. I walked over to her.

"Is everything okay, Mary Anne?" I asked.

"I guess so," she said, "I had a bit of a feeling while I was at the cemetery, as if a presence was talking to me."

As mentioned before, I was always honest with Mary Anne. A lot of times, I wasn't exactly sure about her honesty with me. She seemed, sometimes, to delve into the paranormal and those were the times I felt it difficult to believe her.

My 24th birthday had been a few weeks after our expedition. Mary Anne turned it into a hero party for me, at which I finally felt good for saving her life. She invited me, Larry, and Balki out for dinner, where she had a gold life-savers medallion for me.

"I want to present this medallion," she said, "to my best friend, my hero, and the bravest person I know, Jennifer Lyons. She braved the rough waters to save my life and I adore her for that. Jennifer deserves to have this medallion."

Larry and Balki clapped their hands and I stood up, almost in tears of joy.

"Thank you, Mary Anne," I said, "I am so glad to receive this medallion from you. You are my one true best friend and I will always be there for you." Mary Anne and I hugged each other and that is when we both cried, "I am so glad that I saved your life so I can have my best friend with me forever."

Balki and Larry even did the Dance of Joy in my honour. We left the restaurant in glee that evening. The next day and for the next week, Mary Anne was still showing me gratitude. I said to her in the nicest possible way, "Mary Anne, it is okay. You don't have to do things for me anymore. The medallion was enough. I don't need you to cater to me like this."

That was when Mary Anne looked at me and started to cry. Then she ran into our bedroom. Sadie followed her, knowing that she was sad. Mary Anne remained silent with me the next day, only uttering a few words. I thought there was something else going on with Mary Anne that she wasn't telling me.

My mother Catherine had been a school guidance counsellor; the counselling had rubbed off from my grandfather, who was a psychologist. While Mary Anne was in our room, I called my mother up and told her that I saved Mary Anne's life.

"That was very noble of you, dear," she said to me, over the phone.

"I know," I said, "But it is getting too much for me. Mary Anne won't let me do anything, she wants to do it herself to show gratitude. Also, she said that she had a strange feeling when she was at the cemetery visiting her mother's grave, as if someone who wasn't there was talking to her.

"Well do you know if there is anything related to it?" Mother asked.

"I can't see the relationship, but the only thing I can think of it having to do with is her fear of water. I feel that she might want me to help her get over her fear, but is too embarrassed to tell me about it. Should I get her over her fear?"

"Possibly try it," Mother said, "But let her decide whether or not she wants to do it. Don't force it on her. If possible, get her up to Springfield to see your uncle Doug. Let me talk to Mary Anne, please."

I called Mary Anne to come out and talk to Mother. She took the receiver and put it up to her ear.

"Hello, Catherine," said Mary Anne, "This is Mary Anne, here. Let me put you on speaker phone, so Jennifer and I can both talk to you."

Mary Anne pushed the speaker phone button. "Can you hear us?" she asked.

"Yes," said Mother's voice, over speaker phone.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Mary Anne.

"Well I was talking to Jennifer," Mother's voice said, "and we both agree that you should go see my brother Doug in Springfield, but only if you want to get over your fear of water. Jennifer believes that part of your silence toward her has to do with the fear you have of water."

Mary Anne looked at me in disbelief. She didn't think that I would go into depth about that to my mother. Mary Anne's fear of water was something very sensitive to her. I felt that she wouldn't talk to me.

"Do I have to?" asked Mary Anne

"Well I would like you to," I said.

"I thank you for what you did for me, Jennifer," said Mary Anne, "But I am very sensitive about this. I feel that I am too old to get over this fear."

"You are never too old for anything, Mary Anne," said Mother's voice.

"And besides that," I said, "You owe me for saving your life. The least you can do for me is this."

Mary Anne thought for a bit.

"Well, okay," she said, "I guess I can do it. I will do it for you, Jennifer, because you are my hero."

We didn't know if Mother was smiling, but she said over the phone, "That's good. Good luck, girls."

Uncle Doug was Mother's youngest brother. He took over the practice of psychology after my grandfather died. My grandfather helped Mary Anne out just after her mother died, so I knew that she would be in good hands with Uncle Doug. Even some of the psychology rubbed off on me, and was especially useful with Mary Anne, because I knew to be nice to people who were simple-minded, like she was.

Uncle Doug lived in a mansion, which included a swimming pool and a hot tub. So with that, my work was cut out for me. So that weekend, Mary Anne and I took a trip to Springfield to see Uncle Doug. We took Balki with us for extra support and Larry, so I can show him what kind of vacation I like and that he doesn't need to get romantic with me on them. We also brought Sadie with us to keep Mary Anne happy. During the entire trip, a three-hour drive from Chicago, Mary Anne only spoke 20 words. She kept feeding and hugging Sadie. I guess she felt that she would not be there to hug and feed Sadie if it hadn't been for me.

By the time we got to Uncle Doug's, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon. I parked in his driveway where he was out spraying the hose, trying to get it to work. I got out of the car and ran over to him.

"Uncle Doug!" I said, with my arms out, poised to hug him.

"Jennifer," he said, "How is my favourite niece!"

Uncle Doug had been my mother's youngest brother and was only older than me by 10 years. In a sense, we grew up together, too. Whenever he babysat me and Phillip when we were kids, we always had fun playing games and stuff. He was my favourite relative.

"I am fine, Uncle Doug," I said.

"Wow!" he said, "You are all grown up. And who have we here?"

I introduced Larry and Balki to him. "This is my boyfriend Larry and his cousin Balki. Of course, you know Mary Anne, too."

"Mary Anne," said Uncle Doug, "How are you?"

Mary Anne was anything but cheerful.

"Fine!" she said, shyly, which made a total of 21 words she said since we left Chicago.

Larry shook Uncle Doug's hand and Balki hugged him.

"Affectionate fellow, isn't he?" said Doug.

"He sure is," said Larry, "That is the way he greets people in his country of Mypos."

"Let me show you, Uncle Doug," Balki said, "How to get this hose started." Balki turned the water on, pushed the hose button, but nothing happened. He unhooked the hose from the spigot and hooked it back up again. Then it worked.

"How were you able to do that?" Larry asked.

"I know how to use a hose," Balki said.

"They have hoses on Mypos?" asked Larry.

"Of course," said Balki, "How do you think our rivers get filled up?"

"Come in, guys," said Doug, ignoring their conversation.

"Larry," I said, "Take Sadie with you. I want to talk to Mary Anne alone."

"Okay," said Larry, "Come on Sadie, here girl."

Sadie ran into Larry's arms and Larry carried her in. I took Mary Anne to the side.

"What's wrong, Mary Anne?" I asked

Mary Anne just stood there for a brief moment. Then she hugged me.

"I would be dead now, if it wasn't for you," she said, "I can't get over that. You pulled me away from the falls at the last possible second."

"Come on, Mary Anne," I said, "You would have done the same for me."

"Not likely," she said, "I can't swim, so I wouldn't have been able to do that. I realized since your birthday party that I am never going to be able to be like you and save someone's life. I also feel like I am too dependent on you and that I can't do anything unless you do it, too. My life revolves around doing what my best friend does and I am never sure how she feels about it. I only went rafting with you because I want to be just like you. You were always the popular one in school, I wasn't."

"Well," I said, "You can always rely on me, Mary Anne. It doesn't matter to me if you do the things that I do. I am always happy to show you. Let's go get settled in our room and then we can see Uncle Doug tomorrow."

"I think I should go get Sadie from the boys, Jennifer," Mary Anne said.

I had seen that Mary Anne was quite upset and still distraught about her situation.

"You go get settled in the room, Mary Anne," I said, "I will go get Sadie for you."

"Thank you for everything, Jennifer," she said, almost crying, "I will not forget everything you ever did for me. You are my true best friend."

Mary Anne went ahead of me and I directed her to our room, which was right next door to the swimming pool room. When Mary Anne got into our room, I went the other way to where Larry and Balki's room was and I got Sadie. When I got there, Balki was feeding Sadie.

"Is everything all right, Jennifer," Larry asked me.

"It's fine, Larry," I said.

"I want to apologize again," Larry said, "for what I put you and Mary Anne through. I didn't know she couldn't swim."

"That's okay, Larry, I said, "It's partially my fault. I should never have encouraged her to come with us. Don't worry about it. We came out of that just fine. Mary Anne is quite grateful to me for saving her life, but I have told her to lie down for a while and I would come and get Sadie."

"Poor Mary Anne," said Balki, handing Sadie over to me, "I am hoping she will be okay after."

"I am sure she will be, Balki," said Larry.

I exited with Sadie in hand and went back down to our room. Mary Anne was fast asleep on her bed and when I put Sadie down; she immediately ran over to see Mary Anne and snuggled up against her. It was such a sweet moment that I just had to get a picture. I took my camera out and snapped a shot of it.

A few hours later, Mary Anne woke up and we ate dinner with the guys. Uncle Doug's place was a beautiful mansion, and almost like a hotel. He had his own private pool with a hot tub and several bedrooms. Fortunately, the bedroom Mary Anne and I were in was right next to the swimming pool room.

When Mary Anne and I came back to our room, I said, "now let's wait an hour."

"An hour for what?" Mary Anne asked.

"We have to wait an hour for our food to digest and then we can go to the pool."

"WHAT!" chimed Mary Anne, "I am not going to the pool!"

"That was what I brought you up here for. Uncle Doug is going to get you over your fear of water."

"By putting me in a swimming pool?"

"Of course," I said, "How else can you get over your fear of water?"

"Jennifer," she said, shyly, "I really don't want to do this. I am afraid of the water, remember?"

"Mary Anne," I said, "You should do this. You get over your fear of water, then you can go to pools and stuff, and be able to go swimming whenever you want to. At least give it a try, for me, please.

"You know I don't do well in water, Jennifer. What if I drown?"

"You won't drown, Mary Anne. We will be in shallow water."

"How do you know?" Mary Anne asked.

"Because the pool has two ends – a shallow end and a deep end."

"Oh right!" she said.

"Besides," I said, "I will be there with you. You know you can trust me. I am your best friend."

"Well, okay," said Mary Anne, "I will try it. As long as I know you are with me. But can we do it tomorrow instead of tonight? I am still kind of tired."

"All right," I said, "We will do it tomorrow."

"Let's get some sleep."

Since it was hot, Mary Anne and I slept in our shirt and shorts instead of changing into our night clothes. She had the bed on the left by the door and I had the bed on the right. Sadie slept with Mary Anne.

Whenever anything happened with Mary Anne, Sadie always came to me. In a sense she was telling me that Mary Anne was in some sort of trouble. At about 1:30 in the morning, Sadie came pawing at my face. I woke up and started to pet her.

"What is it, girl?" I asked.

Sadie barked and pointed her face toward Mary Anne's bed. Mary Anne wasn't there. Her sleep mask was on her pillow. Suddenly, I heard a splash coming from the pool room next door. I only thought of one thing:

"Mary Anne!"

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Fears and Failure: Chapter 2

As told by Jennifer Lyons

I knew right away that it was Mary Anne who fell in the pool. I quickly put my slippers on and dashed over to the pool room in enough time to see Mary Anne in the deep end of the pool, struggling to keep her head above water.

"I can't swim, Jennifer!" she yelled, "Help me!"

I immediately grabbed a life ring buoy with a rope off the wall and threw it to Mary Anne, who grabbed it and I was able to pull her in. I got her out of the pool just in time before she blacked out. We sat down on the bench by the pool and after about 10 minutes of Mary Anne catching her breath, I looked at her with a slight look of anger.

"What were you doing?" I snapped, "You could have drowned!"

"I don't know what happened," she said, "I wasn't sleepwalking. I heard a voice inside of my head telling me to venture toward the pool and get in. I felt as if I was led there by someone."

"But how did you wind up in the pool?"

"I was pushed in," she said, "I think it was someone from beyond the grave."

This issue was too scary, even for me. I felt as if I should lecture Mary Anne that there are no ghosts. But since we were going to see Uncle Doug in his office the next morning, I figured we should just get back to bed.

"Well you're lucky Sadie came to me when she did," I said, "otherwise you would have drowned."

"Thank you again, Jennifer, for saving my life," Mary Anne said, "You are so generous."

"No problem, Mary Anne," I said, boldly, "but try to stay out of danger, please. I may not always be there for you."

"I will try that, Jennifer," she said, "Now let's get to bed. It's almost 2 am."

We both went back to our beds. Mary Anne's clothes had since dried, so she was able to lie in her bed and not worry about getting the sheets wet.

The next day, before we went for breakfast, I asked Mary Anne if she was okay.

"I'm fine," she said, "but that was scary for me."

"Me, too," I said.

"That was too scary. Perhaps we should see your uncle as soon as possible."

"Well, we can eat, and then we will go see him."

That afternoon we went to Uncle Doug's office. He had been on the phone when we arrived. We looked all around the office. After Uncle Doug got off the phone, he asked both of us to sit down.

"What seems to be the problem, ladies?" he asked

"Well," said Mary Anne, "My psyche is forcing me to see premonitions that are illusory and frightening. I feel that I should extinguish these premonitions all simultaneously."

Both Uncle Doug and I stared blankly at Mary Anne.

"Hey," she said, "I saw it on Dr. Ruth."

"Basically," I said, "Mother sent us to you. Mary Anne has been having problems with her fears. She nearly drowned in the water and because she has a fear of water, she can't swim. Thus, we have come here to have you help us.

"Anything else," he asked

"Yes," I continued, "Mary Anne also said she got a call during the night to the pool and was pushed in.

"Interesting," he said, "Do you know how you got this call?"

"No," said Mary Anne, "I don't. However, it might have something to do with the fact that I said my prayers and went to see my mother's grave just after Jennifer saved my life."

"It is possible that your mother could have been channeling you and you responded," he said.

"I did kind of feel some kind of weird presence the other day at the cemetery when I was visiting my mother's grave," said Mary Anne, "I just didn't know what it was."

"What should we do, Uncle Doug?" I asked.

"Here is my advice," he said, "Take Mary Anne to the hot tub. Use the remote there to fill it up with water. When it gets to the level of water she is uncomfortable with, then let me know and we will take it from there."

Later that afternoon, I made ready to take Mary Anne to the hot tub. I had on my white bathing suit with pink polka-dots on it. Mary Anne had no bathing suit so she wore a shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Okay, Mary Anne," I said, "we are going to stand in the hot tub and I am going to be there with this remote. I will let the water rise and you scream the minute it gets to the point where you are scared."

"Sounds okay," she said.

When we got to the hot tub, Larry and Balki were sitting in it.

"Hi, guys," I said, "What are you two doing here?"

"Balki has never seen a hot tub or an indoor swimming pool before, so I brought him down here to see it."

"Well I came down here as a request from Uncle Doug to see if I can cure Mary Anne of her fear of water. We need to use the hot tub, if you don't mind."

"Certainly," Larry said, "Come on, Balki. Okay if we watch?"

"Well I don't know, Jennifer," said Mary Anne, "This is kind of personal to me."

"It might be nice to have some encouragement, Mary Anne," I said.

"Well, okay," she said, "But just keep out of the way."

Mary Anne and I looked into the hot tub as I pushed the button to drain it. Mary Anne felt ill-at-ease.

"That was pretty scary," she said.

"What was scary - the draining of the hot tub?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, "I didn't like seeing the water sucked in there."

Meanwhile, Balki and Larry exited the room and supposedly went back to their room. I asked Mary Anne to step into the hot tub with me. She looked in.

"I don't know, Jennifer," she said, "what if I slip?"

"Don't worry, I will hold you if I need to," I said.

Mary Anne reluctantly stepped into the pool and stood next to me. I pushed the button to turn the hot tub on, and the water started coming out.

"This water is hot!" Mary Anne screeched.

"Of course it's hot," I said, "That is why it is called a 'hot tub'."

"Oh right!" she said.

Mary Anne watched in horror as the spray came out of the bottom and the bubbles started coming up. By the time the water was half way up our ankles, she looked at me in fear and started to scream. I immediately turned off the hot tub pump with the remote. Mary Anne immediately got out of the hot tub and ran out the door screaming "DADDY!" She passed Larry and Balki in the hallway and I stopped to talk to them a minute.

"What's wrong?" Larry asked.

"I don't know," I said, "In my four years as a lifeguard, I had never seen anything like this before. Perhaps I should go talk to her."

I immediately went down to our room. Mary Anne was already there playing with Sadie.

"What happened, Mary Anne?" I asked.

"I panicked, okay?" she said, rather harshly, "I am not used to the water. When I saw the water drain and the water fill up again, I felt as if I was going to drown, just like I almost did last time."

"Mary Anne," I said, "the hot tub is only waist deep. Perhaps we should try you in the pool. You can walk in the shallow end."

"How deep is that?"

"About waist deep," I said.

"Forget it," Mary Anne told me, "I can't go anywhere in water passed my ankles. Let's just forget the whole thing."

"Well, okay, Mary Anne," I said, "But I would like to find out what the problem is with the fact that you ran out screaming 'Daddy'."

The next day we went back to see Uncle Doug.

"We attempted what you asked of us," I said, "but it didn't work properly. Mary Anne ran screaming from the hot tub after the water reached our ankles. She then got out and ran off down the hallway screaming 'Daddy'."

"Interesting," Uncle Doug said, "Tell me a bit about your father, Mary Anne."

Mary Anne was silent. I was sitting next to her and I nudged her.

"Mary Anne," I said, "Uncle Doug asked you to tell him about your father."

"My father," she began, "He died when I was three-and-a-half."

"Do you blame yourself for his death?" Uncle Doug asked

"Well, kind of," said Mary Anne, "I was only three-and-a-half at the time, and I tried to stop him from going on his fishing trip by grabbing his leg, but the minute I let go of his leg, he went, and that was when he went too far out and drowned."

"Was he able to swim?"

"Yes, he was," said Mary Anne, "But something grabbed him and pulled him under."

"Interesting," said Uncle Doug, as he stroked his beard.

"What is it?" I asked

"Well the only thing that can really pull someone underwater is an octopus. An octopus must have pulled your father under."

"Oh, right!" chimed Mary Anne, "an octopus. That is one of few animals I don't like."

"So what do we do?" I asked

"Well there isn't much you can do," Uncle Doug said, "Unless I can put Mary Anne under hypnosis to get her over her fear. Otherwise, she would have to try and overcome it herself. But at least we know the cause."

"Perhaps I could help her," I said, "by taking her to the pool and teaching her how to swim."

"It would be a start," Uncle Doug said, although Mary Anne had a look of insecurity on her face, again, "Let me know how it turns out."

With that, Mary Anne and I left Uncle Doug's office.

I was able to talk Mary Anne into going to the pool with me, under the condition that I don't leave her side while we were there. Uncle Doug's pool was nice. It had a shallow end and a deep end. There was a lifeguard's chair and a rope for swinging into the pool. I was again in my bathing suit and Mary Anne was in her white shirt and pink shorts.

Mary Anne stood at the shallow end of the pool, just looking in. I entered the pool and held my hands, gesturing for her to come in.

"Come on, Mary Anne," I said, "the water is fine."

Mary Anne took baby steps and went slowly down the ladder. She was ankle deep on the ladder when she started to panic. I immediately came over to help her down. All that time, she was wearing a look of fear on her face. I knew this would be harder than I thought.

"Now, I am going to stand here and guide you through the water, Mary Anne," I said, "all you have to do is kick your feet."

I did exactly that, but Mary Anne's head went underwater. I immediately got her head out of water before she blacked out. Mary Anne had swallowed some water, which I asked her to spit out and she did – right in my face.

"This isn't working," she said, "I cannot stay afloat."

"Perhaps if we tried a lifejacket," I said.

"No, Jennifer," Mary Anne said, rather demandingly, "I don't want to do this anymore. I cannot get used to the water. I keep going under and a lifejacket won't help. Besides, there is nothing that will over-cloud my fear of water, so let's just forget this. I just hope I didn't let you down." Mary Anne got out of the pool and walked back to our room. I had no choice but to go back with her. When we got there, I looked at Mary Anne with a questionable look, but then I thought, well if she doesn't want to do this, who am I to force her?

"It's fine, Mary Anne, if you don't want to learn how to swim, and you didn't let me down," I said, "I shouldn't have gotten you out there into the pool. I should have remembered how sensitive you were to water."

"That's okay, Jennifer," she said, "You were only trying to help, but I will always have this fear of water. I would like to do something else, though, for you saving my life."

"How about you be nice to me when I make fun of you," I said, "You know that I am only joking around with you. Besides, you already did a myriad of nice things for me. That's enough. The fact that you even said 'thank you' to me is enough."

"That is fine," Mary Anne told me, "I can live with that. I won't be mean or try to punch you out if you make fun of me." She hugged me again, "Sorry, Jennifer."

"Don't worry about it," I said, and I gave Mary Anne a hug.

Later that evening, I went to the pool myself and saw Larry and Balki there.

"How did it go earlier?" Balki said.

"Not too well," I said, "We are just going to forget the whole thing. Right now, I came to go into the pool. But I think I will sit in the lifeguard's chair for a while before I go in."

Having a feeling of being a lifeguard again, I sat in the lifeguard's chair. About five minutes later, Mary Anne came walking in with Sadie.

"Hello, Mary Anne," I said, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to take Sadie for a walk, and she told me she wanted to come here."

"I'm sure she did."

Mary Anne looked at Balki and Larry in the pool.

"Hi, Balki," she called out

"Hi Mary Anne," he said back, "I wish you could come in."

About five feet from the lifeguard's chair was a rope, for swinging into the pool. Mary Anne set up a chair and sat in it, reading the book she brought with her.

"So do you want to give swimming one more try, Mary Anne?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Well I'm going in," I said

I dove into the deep end of the pool. Meanwhile, Balki and Larry were in the shallow part nearing the deep end. Balki noticed the octopus pool cleaner with really long tentacles crawling around the inside of the pool.

"Cousin," he said, "What is that thing?" he said, pointing to it.

"It's an octopus pool cleaner, Balki. It cleans the pool of dirt."

"That is good," Balki said.

As Larry started to head over to the deep end, one of the tentacles grabbed his leg. He started calling to Balki.

"Balki, Balki!" said Larry.

"Cousin, what is it?"

"The octopus has me. Help me!"

"Cousin!" Balki hollered, "I'm coming."

Balki swam over to get Larry. I closed in on them from the other side.

"I'm coming, too, Larry," I said.

One of the tentacles grabbed Balki and the other grabbed me.

"How do you turn this thing off?" Larry asked

"The switch is on the bottom," I hollered, "and I can't reach it."

I looked over to Mary Anne, who, all the while was immersed in her book.

"Help us, Mary Anne!" I called out.

Mary Anne got up immediately and said, "How? I can't swim, remember?"

Then Mary Anne got an idea. She walked over to where the lifejackets were and put one on. Then she grabbed the rope and swung into the pool, landing in the tiny crevice between me and Larry.

"I'm here, Jennifer," she said, "What can I do?"

"Unhook the tentacle from around me. I can go underwater and shut this octopus cleaner off."

Mary Anne did just that, and I was barely able to get under the water. I pushed the button and turned the octopus cleaner off, thus freeing Balki and Larry. When I resurfaced, Mary Anne blacked out again.

"Get to the side, guys," I said, "I will take Mary Anne in."

I was able to revive Mary Anne after about 10 minutes and we both sat up on the bench on the side of the pool.

"What happened?" she said

"You did a very brave thing, Mary Anne," I said, "You saved our lives by overcoming your fear of the water to rescue us when the octopus cleaner grabbed us."

She asked, "how did I save your life?"

"You pulled the tentacle away from me and I was able to get underwater enough to turn it off. If you hadn't done that, we would have all been goners. You're a hero!"

"Gee, thanks," Mary Anne said, smiling, "I never thought I would be able to do that. My fear of losing my friends outweighed my fear of the water. But can I ask one favour, Jennifer?"

"Sure," I said.

"Please don't ask me to go into the water again. I don't like blacking out."

With that, I gave her my solemn word. That evening we had a hero party for Mary Anne. She was happy, and the guys even did the dance of joy for her. Mary Anne and I were so happy, that we did it, too, following Balki's lead. All was great for us. From that day on, Mary Anne was so good to me that she always made my coffee the way I wanted and didn't give me any trouble when I joked around about her mental state. Mary Anne never learned to swim after that, but she always felt like a hero for what she did and we were happy for her.

THE END


End file.
